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Former Jaguar Ernest Wilford squares away bar disturbance arrest

Ernest Wilford signs autographs for fans during spring training 2010.

A former Jacksonville Jaguar known for his charity work has pleaded no contest to resisting arrest after officers had to subdue him with a stun gun during a disturbance at a popular Jacksonville Beach night club.

Ernest Wilford, 32, was ordered to pay $303 in court costs Friday after pleading to the misdemeanor charge. Judge Charles Cofer withheld adjudication, meaning Wilford technically is not to be considered a convict although the arrest will continue to soil an otherwise spot-free record.

A count of trespassing was dropped.

“It’s fair to say Ernest has regrets as to parts of that evening,” said Wilford’s attorney, Scott Mitchell. “The main concern for him now is moving on and continuing to work with children.”

Police were called to the Ritz bar on Third Avenue North at 1:20 a.m. Jan. 14, which was his birthday, when management received complaints that Wilford was groping cocktail waitresses and refused to leave. Wilford mouthed off and pushed one of the officers before he was hit with several Tasers, his arrest report said.

Assistant State Attorney Stephen Siegel said first-time misdemeanor-level offenders can sometimes have their cases effectively erased through programs that require community service or some form of treatment. Because Wilford was accused of scuffling with officers, prosecutors kept that option off the table.

“It’s a big deal any time you have an encounter with law enforcement that results in you being Tased,” Siegel said.

Wilford, who did not return a phone message, was a fourth-round draft pick out of Virginia Tech in 2004. He initially played wide receiver for the Jaguars and his best year came in 2005 when he caught 41 passes for 681 yards and seven touchdowns. He played briefly with the Miami Dolphins before rejoining the Jaguars as a converted tight end in 2009. He was released in September after having played little as a backup.

But he remained a popular figure and community do-gooder. Last summer Wilford shaved his dreadlocks to raise money for Jacksonville’s Wolfson Children’s Hospital cancer unit. In 2009 he took dozens of children from The Bridge of Northeast Florida holiday shopping. Wilford also was a host of the Jaguars Foundation’s “Straight Talk” program, an effort to reduce teen pregnancy and HIV transmission.